Downfall

The Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT pairing delivers a strong 1080p and 1440p experience in Downfall, but the data reveals a clear shift in bottleneck behavior as resolution climbs. At 1080p, the CPU’s six cores and 12 threads are the limiting factor, capping performance below what the GPU can deliver. By 4K, the workload transitions to the GPU, where the RX 7700 XT’s 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth become the primary constraint. This is a classic mid-range combination where the processor’s 2.60 GHz base and 4.40 GHz boost clocks are sufficient for high frame rates, but the architecture’s 14 nm process node and 12 MB shared L3 cache show their age in less demanding settings.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 14 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, which are the figures that directly influence how fast the CPU can feed the Radeon RX 7700 XT. In Downfall, a horror title that relies on consistent frame pacing rather than massive thread counts, the processor’s single-thread performance is critical. The 3DMark single-thread score of 868 and the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2029 indicate that the i5-11400F has sufficient per-core strength for the game’s logic and AI routines.

However, the benchmark results show that at lower resolutions and settings, the CPU becomes the ceiling. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 259.4 FPS, which is the highest average recorded across all tested configurations. This figure is substantially higher than the 4K High result of 75.6 FPS, suggesting that the CPU is capable of pushing well over 200 frames per second when the GPU is not saturated. The processor’s multi-threaded capabilities, as reflected in the Cinebench R20 multicore score of 6036 and the 3DMark max-threads score of 5652, are more than adequate for a game that typically utilizes fewer than eight threads effectively.

The i5-11400F’s position relative to its nearest rivals further clarifies its role. Its average benchmark score of 17181 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U’s 17189, a delta of 0%. It also trails the Intel Core i7-1260P by just 0.2% and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U by 0.2%, while edging out the Intel Core i5-1240U by 0.2%. These marginal differences indicate that the CPU is not a performance outlier; it delivers exactly what its specifications suggest. In Downfall, this means the processor is a reliable, mid-pack performer that will not embarrass the GPU at 1080p, but it does not have the headroom to maintain ultra-high frame rates when paired with such a capable graphics card.

The GPU’s architecture, RDNA 3.0, with a boost clock of 2544 MHz and a game clock of 2171 MHz, is designed to handle high-throughput rendering tasks. The RX 7700 XT’s 3456 shading units and 96 ROPs are ample for this title, but the CPU’s 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support at 51.2 GB/s can create a bottleneck in scenarios where the GPU is waiting for draw calls. The data suggests that at 1080p Ultra, the combo averages 110.8 FPS, which is 148.6 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result. This massive drop is primarily due to increased GPU load, but the CPU’s inability to keep up with the GPU’s frame generation at lower settings is evident.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-11400F a bottleneck for the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT in Downfall?

A: The data indicates a CPU bottleneck at 1080p Low, where the combo achieves 259.4 FPS, but this is likely limited by the processor’s single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 868). At 4K Ultra, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, with the average FPS dropping to 46.5, showing the workload shifts entirely to the graphics card.

Q: How does the i5-11400F compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-11400F’s average benchmark score of 17181 is virtually identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U’s 17189, with a delta of 0%. It also matches the Intel Core i7-1260P (17212, -0.2%) and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (17215, -0.2%), while slightly outperforming the Intel Core i5-1240U (17141, +0.2%). This places the CPU in a tight cluster of similar performers.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo, and at what settings?

A: The highest average FPS is 259.4, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This result is significantly higher than the 1080p High result of 176.4 FPS and the 1080p Medium result of 211.5 FPS, indicating that lower settings reduce GPU load and allow the CPU to push more frames.

Q: Does the combo’s performance scale linearly with resolution?

A: No, the scaling is non-linear. From 1440p High (127.6 FPS) to 4K High (75.6 FPS), the drop is 52 FPS, a 40.8% reduction. From 1080p High (176.4 FPS) to 1440p High (127.6 FPS), the drop is 48.8 FPS, a 27.7% reduction. This suggests diminishing returns as resolution increases, with the GPU becoming the primary constraint.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations in Downfall?

A: The combo ranks 756th out of 1741 tested combos, placing it in the 56.6th percentile. This indicates that it performs better than the majority of combinations but is not a top-tier pairing, likely due to the CPU’s mid-range standing (75th percentile among all CPUs) rather than the GPU’s performance (73rd percentile among all GPUs).

Q: What is the impact of Ultra settings on performance compared to High?

A: At 4K, Ultra settings yield 46.5 FPS, which is 29.1 FPS lower than the High setting’s 75.6 FPS, a 38.5% reduction. At 1440p, Ultra produces 77 FPS versus 127.6 FPS on High, a 39.7% reduction. At 1080p, Ultra produces 110.8 FPS versus 176.4 FPS on High, a 37.2% reduction. The consistent ~38% drop indicates that Ultra settings impose a similar relative load increase across all resolutions.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling data for this combo reveals a clear story about where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p Low, the system averages 259.4 FPS, which drops to 187.6 FPS at 1440p Low, a reduction of 71.8 FPS or 27.7%. Moving to 4K Low, the average falls to 116.8 FPS, a further drop of 70.8 FPS or 37.7% from 1440p. This pattern shows that as resolution increases, the GPU is forced to work harder, and the frame rate decreases proportionally. The fact that the 1080p Low result is so high suggests that the CPU is not the primary limiter at this setting; the GPU is capable of rendering frames faster than the CPU can issue draw calls.

When examining High settings, the scaling is more pronounced. At 1080p High, the combo produces 176.4 FPS, which drops to 127.6 FPS at 1440p High (a 27.7% decrease) and then to 75.6 FPS at 4K High (a 40.8% decrease from 1440p). The larger percentage drop from 1440p to 4K compared to 1080p to 1440p indicates that the GPU is becoming increasingly saturated. At 4K, the RX 7700 XT’s 12 GB memory and 192-bit bus are working near their limits, and the CPU’s role diminishes. The 4K Ultra result of 46.5 FPS further confirms this, as the GPU’s pixel throughput (244.2 GPixel/s) and texture rate (549.5 GTexel/s) are strained by the higher resolution and settings.

The Medium settings show a similar trend, with 211.5 FPS at 1080p, 154 FPS at 1440p (a 27.2% drop), and 94.1 FPS at 4K (a 38.9% drop from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops across settings suggests that the limiting component shifts from CPU to GPU as resolution rises, but the transition is smooth rather than abrupt. At 1080p, the CPU’s 4.40 GHz boost clock can sustain high frame rates, but at 4K, the GPU’s raw compute power (35.17 TFLOPS FP32) becomes the deciding factor. The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can maintain high refresh rates, while 4K is only playable at lower settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its most impressive results. On Low settings, the average FPS is 259.4, which is the highest of any configuration. Medium settings reduce this to 211.5 FPS, a drop of 47.9 FPS or 18.5%. High settings produce 176.4 FPS, which is 35.1 FPS lower than Medium. Ultra settings yield 110.8 FPS, a significant 65.6 FPS reduction from High. This 1080p data shows that the GPU is not the limiting factor at this resolution; the CPU’s six cores and 12 threads are sufficient to drive high frame rates, and the performance scales predictably with settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS figures are lower but still robust. Low settings produce 187.6 FPS, a 71.8 FPS drop from the 1080p Low result. Medium settings yield 154 FPS, which is 57.5 FPS lower than 1080p Medium. High settings result in 127.6 FPS, a 48.8 FPS reduction from 1080p High. Ultra settings drop to 77 FPS, which is 33.8 FPS lower than 1080p Ultra. The percentage drops from 1080p to 1440p are consistent across settings, ranging from 27.2% to 30.5%, indicating a uniform increase in GPU load.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more constrained. Low settings average 116.8 FPS, which is 70.8 FPS lower than 1440p Low. Medium settings produce 94.1 FPS, a 59.9 FPS drop from 1440p Medium. High settings yield 75.6 FPS, a 52 FPS reduction from 1440p High. Ultra settings result in 46.5 FPS, a 30.5 FPS drop from 1440p Ultra. The 4K Ultra result is the lowest recorded, and it is below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider playable. The data shows that the RX 7700 XT can handle 4K at Low and Medium settings with frame rates above 90 FPS, but High and Ultra settings push the GPU to its limits.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT ranks 756th out of 1741 tested combos in Downfall. This places it in the upper-middle tier of all configurations, with 43.4% of combos performing better and 56.6% performing worse. The rank is a direct reflection of the hardware’s capabilities: the CPU sits in the 75th percentile among all CPUs, and the GPU sits in the 73rd percentile among all GPUs. Both components are above average, but neither is a top-tier performer, which explains the mid-pack ranking.

The combo’s ranking is influenced by the CPU’s position relative to its nearest rivals. The i5-11400F’s average benchmark score of 17181 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (17189, 0% delta) and the Intel Core i7-1260P (17212, -0.2% delta). This means that swapping the i5-11400F for a similar-performing CPU would likely result in a very similar ranking, as the GPU remains the same. The RX 7700 XT’s average benchmark score of 30097 is also close to its nearest rivals, including the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (30109, 0% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 570 (30158, -0.2% delta). This indicates that the combo’s rank is not a result of an outlier component but rather a balanced pairing.

Within the context of Downfall, the 756th rank suggests that this combo is capable of delivering a smooth experience at 1080p and 1440p, but it will struggle to compete with higher-end systems at 4K Ultra. The measured FPS data supports this, as the combo achieves over 75 FPS at 4K High, which is playable but not exceptional. The rank also reflects the fact that the CPU, while competent, is not a high-end part; its 75th percentile standing means that 25% of CPUs tested are faster. For a player targeting high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming, this combo is well-suited, but for 4K enthusiasts, the GPU is the more significant component, and the CPU’s limitations are less relevant.